Name Diana Displacement 355 long tons (361 t) Draught 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) Length 36 m Builder Bremen | Type Whaler Beam 29 ft (8.8 m) Launched 1840 Draft 5.33 m | |
Fate Grounded on the Lincolnshire coast while returning home in 1869 | ||
Diana was a whaling ship built in 1840, in Bremen, Germany. She sailed out of Hull, England. In 1858 a steam engine was installed, making her the first steam-powered whaler to sail from Hull (Tay from Dundee was the first ever, a year earlier). Records held in Kingston upon Hull, claimed that the steam engine was installed in the Diana in 1857, and, according to Dundee websites, in the Tay 1 in 1859.
Contents
Trapped in the ice
In 1866, while on a whaling expedition in Baffin Bay, Diana became frozen in the ice, where it was trapped for over six months. The ship's captain, 64-year-old John Gravill, and many of the crew died. The diary of the ship's doctor, Charles Edward Smith, was published in the book From the Deep of the Sea. (ISBN 0-87021-932-4) There is a memorial fountain to Diana's return from the ice in the town of Lerwick in the Shetland Islands, as many of the crew originated from the islands and all the deceased except the captain were buried there. Charles Smith's services and heroism were recognised by the award of a set of surgical instruments from the Board of Trade. Captain Gravill's body was taken back to Hull, and his funeral was attended by an estimated fifteen thousand people.
Fate
In 1869, while making her way back from the Davis Strait, Diana encountered a strong gale, and was washed into the Donna Nook sands, on the Lincolnshire coast, and broke up. Diana was the last whaling ship from the port of Hull. Her loss ended the whaling industry of the city.
Captains
This is a partial list of Captains of Diana: